September 25, 2008

Picnic Green Challenge 2008: The Winner

The winner of the Picnic Green Challenge 2008 was announced today at the Picnic conference in Amsterdam (I have served as member of the jury and hosted the finalists' presentations today).

The four finalists were:

Greensulate, an insulation material made of agricultural and other organic waste bound by organic resins (fungi) and designed to remplace synthetic products such as styrofoam in construction, packaging and more. Project submitted by Ecovative Design of the US and presented in the finalists' round by CEO Eben Bayer.

RouteRank, a web tool that finds the best routes, integrating road, rail and air transport, and ranks them according to the criteria defined by the users, such as duration, cost and CO2 emissions. Project submitted by RouteRank of Switzerland and presented by CEO Jochen Mundinger.

Smartscreen, a shading system for windows and glass facades built with smart material and which doesn't require any electricity to operate. Project submitted by DeckerYeadon in New York and presented by architect Peter Yeadon.

VerandaSolar, plug-and-play solar panels that can simply attach to windowsills or balconies, allowing anyone even with space constraints to use solar energy. Project submitted by VerandaSolar of the US and presented by co-creator Capra J'neva.

And the winner is ... well, there were two. Greensulatewas declared the winner of the PGC08 -- and received the 500'000 euros of the prize, offered by the Dutch Postcode Lottery (the money will have to be used to develop the tecnology). But the jury surprised everybody by creating a special runner-up prize of 100'000 euros that went to VerandaSolar. (In the picture, Bayer and J'neva; Press release here.)